Poll: are you into natural or organic skincare?

I just came across this news that rising environmental concerns, and growing health consciousness of consumers is driving the demand for 100% biodegradable cosmetic and skincare products with natural ingredients. The trend towards natural products is driving more and more consumers to use organic and natural products, particularly in United States and Europe. (source)

For beauty or for health?
Now I am curious. It looks like we are also getting more and more natural as well as organic skin care products in our market . However, based on discussions with some of the companies, I get the impression that we are lagging a lot behind. So I would like to run a simple poll to find out how many of you are into using natural and organic skincare. You might also like to let me know why you choose to use natural or organic skin care products. Is it out of health reasons or for beauty sake?

My choice
Personally, I’m using only natural or organic skin care products on my face now. This is why I’m quite particular about the choice of my sunscreen as it’s hard to find something that is natural and yet yield sun protection decently. For my body care, I’m using mostly natural soaps and organic lotions too. However, I use normal shampoos which are not natural nor organic at all. My choices are made on beauty rather than health reasons because I believe some ingredients are more harmful for our skin if used on a long term basis.

Comments

I’d rather use organic stuff, but it’s expensive and I’m starting to have doubts on the safety claims. What’s more, many of them don’t seem to work well on my skin – most of the organic sunscreens/moisturisers clog up my pores even though they are supposed to be non-comedegenic.

Read this recently and thought it might interest you. For me, it is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Now I’ll go for whatever works rather than grab it just because it’s organic: http://thebeautybrains.com/2009/07/23/what-does-science-say-about-cosmetic-chemical-toxicity/

I’m less concerned with the safety claims unless it’s products used on my child. For me, I’m concerned about the ingredients. I don’t fancy natural/organic products with long ingredient list. To me, it should be as simple as possible. And actually I don’t mind parabens at the end of the listing cos the percentage isn’t great. I’m more concerned with silicones.

But bottom line for me is that they need to do something for me or they’re just plain useless.

I was into organic stuff for awhile. Can’t say I’ve turned my back on it but with too many choices,natural ingredients and claims, I’m now less inclined to it. Maybe it’s backlash. As natural as the ingredients are,they do irritate the skin too. I’ve both good and bad experience with organic products.

Currently I’m using organic soap and body lotion. I find them good for body care cos on my face, organic skincare didn’t work out.

I’m just taking a holistic approach on my face. Since I’ve started on it, I rather not mix with the synthetic ones. But they need to perform or they’re just useless… And I do wish they don’t cost an arm and a leg.

i used to be into natural and organic (at different times) but having broke out / ended up with clogged pores / less than satisfactory results, i decided that i’ll just use whatever works and if it ain’t broke, i’m not going to fix it… and what works for me are simple products – basic cleanser, toner, mosturizer with no fancy additives, antioxidents or whatever, just plain basics whether they are natural/organic/synthetic. my skin is thanking me for it

There is nothing better than organic skin care; the reason some people have a problem with a natural, organic cosmetic product is because many products claim to be natural and are not.

There is little or no legislation or guidelines to follow throughout the industry, so many manufacturers can claim to be natural with as little as 2% natural material.

The best bet if you are serious about your health is to purchase from a non commercial source, as there are many, many small businesses who are more honest and up front about their products and their ingredients/methods of manufacture.

although i use natural and organic products as much as i can, unfortunately these products (aside from the carrier oils and essential oils which are quite foolproof), credible organic skincare and natural skincare brands can get quite expensive. this coupled with a lot of cosmetic big names coming up with products that seem to be backed with science, it’s a very big dilemma sometimes. but i have to admit that after i slowly introduced more natural products (i cant say totally natural because Aesop still contains minimal preservatives and Jurlique is overpriced here), my skin has been improving.

Natural/organic has worked well but I agree that not all are great. Some are just riding on the marketing hype to dupe customers and don’t do anything more than their synthetic counterparts. I’m actually more concerned with those from the big names – some of them are just partially natural or organic – but gives consumers the impression that they’re 100% so.

I was confused with organic/natural skincare for a while – products would have claims at being natural on the front and when you look at the ingredients – there woulb be some chemicals in there. I have also suffered with oily acne prone skin all my life so finding something that worked was almost more important to me than natural/organic claims. Then a friend introduced me to Organic Apoteke (nice picture – i love the eye cream) – the packaging is clean and simple yet elegant, they are very informative and I realised that there is only good stuff is in their products and wait for this…. after a few days of using their active range products – my skin was looking clearer and feeling less oily – so much so that my friends and colleagues starting to comment on how good my skin is looking. That was a first for me (my nickname in school was saudi arabia – as you could drill for oil on my face and make a killing). I have been using Organic Apoteke for over 18 months now – any my skin looks amazing – I never thought Id say this but “I have beautiful skin”, I dont wear make-up anymore(apart from mascara and lipgloss). I feel blessed to have found this range and would like to tell as many people with problem acne prone skin about it.

People, natural does not mean anything. Do you know that anybody can say “Natural” when referring to a product because there are no government standards policing the term! If you are truly a LOHAS person, organic products are the way to go. If you live the faux green lifestyle, then by all means, keep using natural products.

Sorry, I don’t agree. Some products are not organic only because of the difficulties involved in obtaining certification, which in turn would drive up the cost and pass it to consumers.

For me, I think the technology or how the product is formulated is more important. It has to be able to penetrate to my dermis layer to do something rather than be natural/organic but just stay on top of my skin and not able to produce results for me.

As you know, I’m more into Natural DIY skincare for cleansing and moisturising my face which is waaayyy more cheaper, and works amazingly for me. However, not all my products are natural. I use garnier sunblock, dove soap and baby shampoo, and nivea lipbalm.

Oh yes… There is one thing I’ve realized. If you have an inflammed spot, it’s best not to put tea tree oil on it too often. Because the tea tree oil might be too harsh, and it’ll make the spot worse.

hmm i add about 3 drops of tea tree oil to about 2 drops of tea tree oil as a “serum” to my skin to keep pimples and acne at bay. it’s been working quite well though i admit my skin surface is perpetually dehydrated on the surface, it might possibly be due to the tea tree mix but i think it can be offset by using a slightly slightly richer moisturizer. and i agree, neem oil is fabulous. i’ve got sample bottles of neem oil and camelia oil from yoursessentially and a bottle of chardonaay grapeseed oil from GoW. i love to use a mix of them for massaging my face or mix a few drops for a “prevent moisture loss serum”

To tell if a product is truly natural (chemical free) and organic, apart from reading the ingredient label which some times may not be easy,look out for certifications by BDIH for ‘Natrual’ (ie chemicial free). or from USDA, Soil association, ecoCert for Organic. It is true that the company will incur cost to get these certifications but one has to admit that the certificate does give comfort that the products are REAL especially to those who are new in the game. When I first started my search for chemical free products, my ignorance brought bad experience – the words “natural”, and “organic” are too freely used by Beauty consultants. I ended up buying products that were no doubt natural / organic in ingredients but not necessary natrual / organic in their preservatives!!! The products were as good as chemical. Recently, I even receive Tel calls inviting me to free organic spa where the products are certified organic by HSA. I am wiser now. To start HSA does not provide such certification. There are more and more Natural and Organic brands in the market. Take heart to check.

I am concern about the use of paraben in non organic skincare products, it disturbs women’s hormonal balance and can lead to some nasty disease. I was suffering from a big uterine fibroid and just got it removed surgically. I am now using all organic skincare products on my face, hair and body just to be safe as I do not want to increase my chance for fibroid again.

Dear Passion, i agree with you. they claim that their products are natural, which is true because they use natural and organic extracts and ingredients but they contain a lot of chemicals as well that are aside from the preservatives but also chemicals to product a certain texture of product (eg thick serums or watery toners). sometimes i lament the need for excessive preservatives because products that are filled in jars seem to be more exposed to bacteria compared to those in pumps or tubes.

I’ve tried some natural skincare remedies, and though it works, it can be a bother at times. With organic skin care, most of the brands are quite pricey, so I’m a little more taken a back when I purchase an item. With so many brands to choose from and so much to learn, it can get over whelming.

The skin is the body’s largest organ, and it’s covered with pores that breathe – both in and out. Knowing this, and having enough education to do a little research on the ingredients found in most non-organic (as well as those that claim to be organic) skin care products I find it hard to believe that anyone could willingly apply chemical based skin care products to their body and NOT prefer natural organic skincare products. All the propyls and hexyls, benzenes and artificial fragrances – there are things in so many big brand commercially available skin “care” products that are byproducts of petroleum distillation, base ingredients that are in anti-freeze and brake fluid, and even formaldehyde. While it’s nuts that these companies add these things just because they’re under the illegal parts per million limit, and only to make a buck without regard for purity, it makes even less sense that intelligent and informed people are still choosing to use them. We don’t need these poisons on or in our bodies, near our children, our pets, or in our homes.

I’m trying to use natural & organic products as much as possible. However, the cost always an issue. Why is it more expensive than the rest in the market?
It’s tough to be able to read everything on the labels too – the names are confusing & too scientific?
Sometimes, after using all those organic stuffs the results just sucks!
For now I’m using both non-organic & organic products.